TheFirstYearsofthe21STCentury

TheeventsthatmarkedthefirstperiodofGreekNewMediaArt
from2000to2008(aperiodthatcanbetheoreticallydefinedas
thebeginningofthesecondperiodofGreekmediaart),
includedthedevelopmentofinfrastructure,institutionsand
artisticactivityitself.In2000,theNationalMuseumof
ContemporaryArt[75]openeditsdoorsandfromitsearly
years,itincludedvideoartandnewmediaexhibitionsinits
programme.

PersonalC inema,TheMakingofBalkanWarsTheGame,20032005

ThegroupPersonalCinema[76]consistingofthemediaartist
IliasMarmaras,thearthistorianDaphneDragonaandthe
programmerYannisSkoulidaspresentedanexhibitionfeaturing
onlineinteractiveartworks[77](2000).Theyworkinthefields
ofonlinegames,gamedesign,codingandtheirworkoften
takesapoliticalcharacter.During20002011,theycreated
Glimpses(2001),theprojectTheMakingoftheBalkanWars:
theGameandTheMakingoftheBalkanWars:the
Documentary(20032006),theprojectFoldedIn(2008),the
gameResistOnline(20072009)andtheprojectUrban
Wars(2007).[78]Slightlyearlier,thefirstGreekFestivalfor
ArtandTechnology,whichhadbegunin1998,wasrenamed
Media@terrain1999andincludedtheBalkansandthe
Mediterranean.From2000itbecameanannualinternational

festivaluntil2006.Underthemessuchas
Neo[Techno]Logisms,deglobalizing,reglobalizing,From
TexttoHypertextandGamingrealitiestherewereinteractive
artworks,videoinstallationsandtheoreticaldebates.
HavinghighspeedInternetconnectionsallowedGreekartists,
whohadpreviouslyexperimentedwithdigitalvideo,toengage
withstreamingmedia.In2001,attheArtAthinaartfair,the
platformwww.artopos.orgpresenteditsnewwebsitethat
includedstreamingmedia,andinthefollowingyearitpresented
emagic,aninternationalfestivalofcyberspacebased
actions[79]incollaborationwiththeInternationalFilmFestival
ofThessaloniki.In2003,ontheoccasionoftwoplanetary
projectsthattookplaceontheInternet,AnnaHatziyiannaki
participatedasaguestcuratorwithtwogroupsofwellknown
Greekartistsworkingwithperformance,visualpoetryand
media.ThefirstprojectwasGATES[80]andthesecondwas
theonlineFestivalofWielfriedAgricoladeCologneentitled[R]
[R][F][81]withCaterinaDaviniobeingthechiefcuratorfor
bothprojects.Thelatterprojectwasalsopresentedatthe
BiennalefornewmediaartInteractiva03attheMuseumof
ContemporaryArtinMerida,Yucatan,Mexico.
From2003onwards,newmediaartfestivalshaveproliferated
includingtheannualInternationalDigitalFilmFestival(2003
2009)[82]themusicfestivalSYNCHFESTIVAL(20042011)
[83]theATHENSVIDEOARTFESTIVAL,whichshowcases
Greekandinternationalvideoart[84]andpremieredin2005
FestivalMiden[85]inKalamata,whichwasfoundedin2005and
includesvideoartANIMASYROS,anannualInternational
AnimationFestivalandForum[86],whichbeganinSyrosin
2008andtheMIRFestival[87]featuringperformances,new
mediaartandmultimedia.TheMIRfestivalwaslaunchedin
2008anditisthecontinuationoftheVideoDance
Festival[88]andtheartisticDirectorofbothFestivalsis
ChristianaGalanopoulou.

VasilysBouzas,HSPAC E,2005

In2005,theHellenicAmericanUnionincollaborationwiththe
platformwww.artopos.orgpresentedtheWB05WebBiennial
ontheWorldWideWeb[89]curatedbyDimitrisFotiou.Afew
monthslater,theDepartmentofMediaandCommunicationof
theUniversityofAthensincollaborationwiththeLeonardo
journalonartandtechnologylaunchedtheYasminmailing
list[90],themedaroundtheintersectionofart,scienceand
technologyintheMediterranean.Itisaninternationalnetwork
ofartists,scientists,engineers,theoristsandinstitutionsthat
promotecommunicationandcollaborationinthefieldof
technologicalartintheMediterranean.In2006,theAthens
SchoolofFineArtsandtheNPOARTOPOSpresentedthefirst
internationalexhibitiononbiotechnologyinGreeceentitledIn
VivoinVitro,[91]curatedbyAnnaHatziyiannaki.The
participantartistswereCriticalArtEnsemble(CAE),Eduardo
Kac,Stelarc,JoeDavis,KarlSims,EvaSutton,DanielLee,
SusanAlexjanderandPolonaTratnik.Atpresent,thehybrid
artsthatinvolvetheLifeSciencesarenotviableinGreece,
becausetherelevantlawandspiritdonotencouragethe
collaborationbetweenartistsandscientistsinthegeneticlabs,
asispossibleinCERN,MITandinotherscientificcentres.Asa
result,therearenoGreekBioartists.In2008,theAthens
SchoolofFineArtsfoundeditsMultimediaDepartment.From
2006theuseofcontemporarytechnologywasalsointroduced
inthePrintmakingDepartmentunderthesupervisionofMichalis
Arfaras[92],anartistwithaninternationalcareerin
printmakingandexperimentalcinema.Duringthesameyear,

theLaboratoryofNewTechnologiesoftheUniversityofAthens
heldeMobiLArt[93],anInteractiveMediaArtistsWorkshop.

TheErasers,WarisWar,2010

In2003,theartistLinaTheodorou[94]presentedanonline
artworkattheNationalMuseumofContemporaryArt,called
Fleshpack.com,whichwasavirtualcompanyofferingpacked
illegalimmigrantsincontainers.Butin2005whenthenew
mediaartistDimitrisFotiou[95]createdanonlinewebsite,
showcasingacompanythatofferedvariousillegalservicesto
Greekcitizensusingtraditionalcorruptionprocesses[96],he
wasmistakenlyarrestedbecausetheprojectwasconsidereda
fraudbytheGreekCyberCrimeunit.TheartistKonstantinos
Tiligadis[97]writescodeandalgorithmsandworkswith
interactivity,sensors,theInternet,multimediaandrobotics.He
oftencollaborateswithAndreasSitorengo[98],whoprimarily
workswithmultimedia,asdoesIoannaMyrka[99].Myrkaalso
workswithperformanceandintegratestechnologysuchas
microcameras,electronicinteractivesculptureandvideoinher
practice.Tiligadis,SitorengoandMyrkaparticipatedinawide
collaborativeproject,whichwaspresenteddigitallyattheISEA
in2011.[100]DimitrisCharitos[101]isalsoanewmediaartist
whousuallycollaborateswithCotiK[102]incomplexinteractive
audiovisualinstallationsofminimalaesthetics.Anarrativeand
anthropocentriccharactercanbefoundintheworksofthe
artistBabisVenetopoulos[103],whethertheyare3D
animations,multimediainstallations,Internetartorhypermedia.

TheartistVasilysBouzas[104],apartfromhismultimedia
installations,incorporatesinteractivityandtheInternetinhis
methodologyandtheartistKostasDaflos[105]workswith
interactiveinstallations.Furthermore,theEraserscombine
severalelementssuchaslivecinema,performanceandthe
Internettocreateexperimentalperformanceswithanactivist
character.[106]

PhotoGallery

Inthefieldofusingmusicwithnewmedia,Yannis
Zannos[107]hasspecialisedinmusicinformaticswithan
emphasisoninteractivetechniques.Hehasparticipatedinmany
internationalcollaborativeprojectsonnewmediaand
multimediaart.VassiliosKokkas[108],whostudiedunder
WalterZimmermann,studiedelectroacousticandcomputer
music.Curatorswhoworksolelywithmultimediaandnewmedia
artareAnnaHatziyiannaki[109],DaphneDragona[110]and
theyoungcuratorialgroupKernel[111],consistingofPegy
Zali,PetrosMorisandTheodorosYiannakis.

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[75]NationalMuseumofC ontemporaryArt,Athens:http://www.emst.gr
(Accessedon:08/08/2012)

[76]PersonalC inema:http://www.personalcinema.org/(Accessedon:
17/08/2012)
[77]PersonalC inema,Proseghisi:
http://artcontext.com/shows/pcinema/index.html?(Accessedon:17/08/2012)
[78]Glimpseshttp://www.softknot.gr/glimpses//
http://www.balkanwars.org/andhttp://www.balkanwars.org/doc//theFolded
In:http://www.foldedin.net//Resistonline:http://resist.transludic.net//Urban
Warshttp://urbanwars.transludic.net/(Accessedon:17/08/2012)
[79]EmagicFestival:http://www.biblionet.gr/book/173392/emagic
(Accessedon:08/08/2012)
[80]GATES:
http://xoomer.virgilio.it/davinio/GATES/GREC IA3/gatesgrecia33.htm
(Accessedon:08/08/2012)
[81][R][R][F]:http://www.nmartproject.net/artists/?p=1106(Accessedon:
08/08/2012)
[82]ShortFilmFestival:http://www.shortfilmfestival.gr/(Accessedon:
29/07/2012)
[83]SYNC HFESTIVAL:http://www.synch.gr/index_new.php?lang=2&cid=2
(Accessedon:29/07/2012)
[84]AthensVideoArtFestival:http://www.athensvideoartfestival.gr/
(Accessedon:29/07/2012)
[85]FestivalMiden:http://www.festivalmiden.gr/festival2005.html(Accessed
on:08/08/2012)
[86]ANIMASYROSFestival:http://www.animasyros.gr/index.php/GR/
(Accessedon:29/07/2012)
[87]MIRfestival:http://www.mirfestival.gr/el/index.html(Accessedon:
17/08/2012)
[88]VideoDancefestival:http://www.mirfestival.gr/08/el/arxeio.html
(Accessedon:17/08/2012)
[89]WB05WebBiennialontheWorldWideWeb:
http://www.artopos.org/net.art/en/index.html(Accessedon:19/08/2012)
[90]Yasmin:http://www2.media.uoa.gr/yasmin/(Accessedon:19/08/2012)
[91]InVivoInVitrohttp://www.artopos.org/projects/vitrovivo/introgr.html
(Accessedon:19/08/2012)
[92]MichalisArfaras:http://animationcenter.gr/modules/news/article.php?
storyid=420(Accessedon:19/08/2012)
[93]eMobiLArt:http://www2.media.uoa.gr/~charitos/emobilart/(Accessed
on:19/08/2012)
[94]LinaTheodorou:http://linatheodorou.com/(Accessedon:19/08/2012)
[95]DimitrisFotiou:http://fotiou.net/(Accessedon:19/08/2012)
[96]http://www.dirtyworksgreece.info/http://fotiou.net/blog2/blogger.html

(Accessedon:19/08/2012)
[97]KonstantinosTiligadis(www.tiligadis.com)(underconstruction)
[98]AndreasSitorengo:http://www.sitorengo.com/(Accessedon:
16/08/2012)
[99]IoannaMyrka:http://www.ioannamyrka.com/(Accessedon:16/08/2012)
[100]Zeugma:http://isea2011.sabanciuniv.edu/paper/zeugma(Accessedon:
16/08/2012
[101]DimitrisC haritos:http://www2.media.uoa.gr/~charitos/art.html
(Accessedon:16/08/2012)
[102]C otiK:http://www.cotik.com/(Accessedon:16/08/2012)
[103]BabisVenetopoulos:http://www.mda.gr/babis/babis.htm(Accessedon:
16/08/2012)
[104]VasilysBouzas:www.artroom7.com/win/index_A7.htm(Accessedon:
16/08/2012)
[105]KostasDaflos:http://users.ntua.gr/kdaflos/(Accessedon:16/08/2012)
[106]TheErasers:http://theerasers.blogspot.gr/,http://vimeo.com/8690958
(Accessedon:16/08/2012)
[107]IannisZannos:http://avarts.ionio.gr/el/department/teachingstaff/275
zanos(Accessedon:19/08/2012)
[108]VassilisKokkas:http://composers.musicportal.gr/?c=kokkas(Accessed
on:19/08/2012)
[109]AnnaHatziyiannaki:http://isea2011.sabanciuniv.edu/mrs.hatziyiannaki
(Accessedon:20/08/2012)
[110]DaphneDragona:http://ludicpyjamas.net/(Accessedon:20/08/2012)
[111]Kernel:http://kernelplatform.com/(Accessedon:16/08/2012)